Putin Gets Humiliated Before Beijing Forum Participants

Several people demonstratively left the hall.

Before Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin's speech in Beijing, China, at the opening of the Belt and Road forum, several European officials demonstratively left the room. Among them was former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin.

According to Reuters, the Russian President addressed the participants of the event after Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Putin has praised Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative and said the Northern Sea Route could deepen trade between East and West and is worthy of investment.

Representatives from more than 130 countries, mainly from the Global South, took part in the forum. The opening was held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Xi Jinping, speaking to the public, opposed Western attempts to reduce dependence on the Chinese economy. “Our lives will not get better and our development will not be faster if we view the development of other countries as a threat and economic interdependence as a risk,” said the head of the PRC.

He also spoke out “against unilateral sanctions, economic coercion, unbundling and disruption of supply chains”.

Although the Belt and Road Initiative was originally intended to connect China with Western Europe, senior EU officials were absent. The only head of state present from the bloc was Hungarian President Viktor Orban. Another notable participant was the trade minister of the Afghan Taliban administration, Nuruddin Azizi.

It is expected that on the sidelines of the forum on Wednesday, October 18, Putin and Xi Jinping will hold in-depth negotiations.